Intersecting Deductions
by crazysockmonkeys
Summary: When it is discovered that FULCRUM has released their own strange form of an intersect, Sarah, Chuck, and Casey are assigned to go to Santa Barbara to investigate. A considerable amount of Shules and Charah, of course.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Hello there! I just wanted to say that this story takes place in season two of Chuck/season three of Psych. Enjoy, everyone!**

* * *

Chuck popped another jellybean into his mouth, oddly intrigued by the nature documentary playing in the Buy More home theater room. Strangely, the day's events had been uneventful. Jeff and Lester, as far as Chuck knew, were safely tucked behind the Nerd Herd counter, and Morgan had last been seen talking with Big Mike. Anna was on lunch break, and he himself was...well, slacking off, not that he had anything better to do.

In an instant, Casey burst through the door in his usual intimidating manner. "Come on, Bartowski, General Beckman wants us at Castle."

"Why?"

"I don't know, moron, she didn't tell me. Just come on."

"Okay." He jammed the half-empty jellybean bag in his back pocket and followed Casey down to Castle.

When they had arrived, Sarah was already standing in front of the screen where General Beckman's face usually appeared. "Hey, Chuck. Casey."

"Hi Sarah," Chuck replied.

"Afternoon, Walker."

"Any word on what General Beckman wanted to talk to us about?" Chuck asked her.

"No. I'm assuming we're getting a new mission, but she didn't tell me anything about it."

At that moment, General Beckman began the conference call. "Good afternoon, team. I hope none of you have plans this weekend."

Chuck began, "Well, actually, Ellie wants me to..."

General Beckman glared.

"Never mind," Chuck finished.

"I'm asking each of you to embark on a very detailed assignment," continued Beckman. "Early last week one of our agents made a startling discovery. FULCRUM has developed their form of an Intersect, although thankfully it isn't as dangerous as what Mr. Bartowski possesses. This program allows for sharpened senses, which allows those who have it to perform detailed deductions."

"Like Sherlock Holmes?" Asked Chuck.

"Essentially," General Beckman answered. "This was released about three years ago, even before the actual Intersect Chuck has was developed. We received information that between five and ten people have been exposed to this program, all living within the state of California. Since one of the men suspected of having it lives and works in the city of Santa Barbara, I have assigned you three to drive there and investigate him."

"Who is he?" Sarah asked.

"Our suspicions lie mainly on a man named Shawn Spencer." General Beckman's face was replaced on the screen by a picture of a younger man with an average build and brown hair. Chuck looked at the photo intensely, but didn't flash.

"I'm not getting anything, I'm not flashing," said Chuck to the General.

"I thought you might not," she said back. "It's likely that he's only a citizen that FULCRUM pulled in to test their system on. He may or may not be doing work for FULCRUM outside of their main database. As you can tell, there are a lot of unknown details still to be discovered."

"What's the job, General?" said Casey.

"For the past _three years, _Spencer has been working as a so-called "psychic detective" along with his associate, one Burton Guster. He is often called in as a consultant for the Santa Barbara police department, but he and Guster will also do cases for hire. Tomorrow, Agent Walker and Mr. Bartowski will drive to Mr. Spencer's office and ask for help in locating a man who doesn't exist. I'm sending over a file with everything you will need to know about this fake case you will be taking to him. You will observe him and follow him as he does his job. Watch for anomalies that might indicate that he has some sort of Intersect. Major Casey, you will be on surveillance. Follow Agent Walker and Mr. Bartowski when they are with Spencer and even Guster. If you feel like you might need to follow anyone else linked with Mr. Spencer, go ahead. This could potentially be a very dangerous mission for all of you. If he does have the abilities he's suspected of, it will be easier for him to uncover your identities. And Chuck?"

"Yes, General?"

"While you are in the Santa Barbara area, I want you with Agent Walker or Major Casey _at all times." _

"Uh, yes ma'am."

"Thank you, team, and good luck." With that, General Beckman ended the call.

* * *

"Chuck, just relax."

"Sarah, I can't relax! General Beckman made this mission seem really scary."

Sarah and Chuck had just parked outside the Psych Detective Agency office but hadn't gotten out of the car yet. It was a cloudy mid-morning, and Chuck was immeasurably tired. All three members of Operation Bartowski had stayed up late the following day studying the fake case file that General Beckman had sent over. They had even had to look over previous cases that Shawn Spencer had solved, because Sarah wanted to make it look like she was a big fan of the man and his work.

"Chuck, as usual, it's unnecessary to be scared. Yes, this case is risky, but I'll be right there the whole time. Now come on, let's go."

Sarah opened and shut her car door and Chuck did the same. Casey was down the street in a surveillance van. Everything was ready, and Chuck was insanely nervous.

As the two walked through the door of the Psych office, the first thing they saw was popped popcorn scattered across the floor. No voices could be heard, but there was a very faint sound in the air—chewing. As Sarah and Chuck came into the main area of the office, they saw two men at separate desks with their faces buried in two large bowls of popcorn, eating quickly and ravenously. It was a very strange and humorous situation, and Chuck couldn't help but laugh. At the sound, the two men lifted up their heads and stared. "Oh, sorry," said the guy that the two recognized to be Shawn Spencer. "We were just having a...popcorn eating contest. You know, like you do on a Saturday afternoon it's cloudy out." He paused, taking a long look at Sarah. He raised his eyebrows. "Hello there." The other man, who was about the same height as Shawn, black, and smartly dressed, came and did something similar, fixing his glance on Sarah. "Is there something we can help you guys with?" He asked with a casual smile.

Sarah batted her eyelashes flirtatiously and Chuck rolled his eyes. "Are you Shawn Spencer and Burton Guster?" She asked.

"Please, please," said Shawn's associate in a very suave manner. "Call me Gus."

"Or, call him "Honey Bear." He likes that too," said Shawn.

"That's not true," said Gus, glaring at him. "What's your name?"

"I'm Sarah Walker."

Chuck spoke, trying to call attention to himself. "And my name is Charles Carmichael. I-"

"Charles Carmichael? Are you serious, man? That's like the coolest name ever," said Shawn. "But can I call you Charlie? Les? Carl? Chuck?"

Chuck's ears perked up, and Shawn continued, "Well, there's no way I can possibly choose, so I guess they'll all have to do. Anyways, what are you guys doing here? What's up?"

"Let me just say first that I am your biggest fan, Mr. Spencer," said Sarah, carefully scooting closer to him and allowing their shoulders to touch. Chuck rolled his eyes again, trying to be inconspicuous. "That's why I know you'll be able to find Brent."

"Who's that?" Asked Shawn.

"My neighbor. We were close."

"How close? Boyfriend? Or is Charles here your beau?"

"No, I'm single. Charles is just my friend, and so is Brent."

"I see. And what happened to him?"

"I don't know. Nobody does.I guess he just left without a trace. His car is gone, if that helps."

"It does, Sarah, thank you. Have you filed a missing person's report with the police department?"

"No. I don't know how long he's been gone. I only just noticed it, but I called his parents and they told me that they hadn't heard from him since Thursday."

"Should we visit Jules and Lassiter, Shawn?" Asked Gus.

"Good idea, my friend," Shawn answered. "Come along, Sarah, Gus, Charlesy, it's off to the police station."


	2. Chapter 2

Chuck, Sarah, Gus, and Shawn all piled in to Gus' small, bright blue car and headed to the police station. Chuck only half listened as Gus and Shawn gabbed on and on. He wondered if Casey was following them in the van, and if Sarah had managed to successfully hide an audio bug somewhere in the Psych office as planned. For a moment, he allowed his thoughts to slow down and he began to listen to the car.

"Just so you know, I am also in the pharmaceutical business," Gus said. He used his rear view mirror to raise his eyebrows at Sarah. "I do very well for myself."

"So I've heard," said Sarah with a smile.

"And the spirits have made me very successful as well," said Shawn. "As you may be aware of, last year I discovered and dug up dinosaur fossils, all by using my psychic powers."

"I was there too, Shawn," said Gus.

"Wrong, Bruton Gaster was there."

Gus smiled again at Sarah. "They got my name wrong in the newspaper."

Sarah giggled. "I remember that! That was very impressive, Shawn. Your talents amaze me."

Gus looked slightly annoyed.

Sarah continued. "You're just so thrilling. I mean, who could forget when you saved the judge of that one show..."

"American Duos!" Exclaimed Chuck. The other three in the car looked at him. "I...uh, love that show."

"Charlie, am I sensing that you happen to be a fan of my expertise as well?" Asked Shawn.

"Uh, Sarah has told me about some of your cases."

"I see, I see." At that moment, Gus parked the car and the four began to walk to the station. Once inside, Chuck looked around curiously at all the uniformed and well-dressed people buzzing around. He followed Shawn and Gus to the desk of a blonde woman whom Chuck guessed was probably about his age.

"Hey, Jules," said Shawn.

The woman looked up from her computer. "Shawn, Gus, what are you guys doing here?" She glanced curiously at Chuck and Sarah; then stood up with a bright smile on her face.

"Jules, this is the lovely Sarah Walker and the illusive Mr. Charles Carmichael, who has the coolest title in the history of the world," Shawn introduced.

She shook the hands of both Chuck and Sarah and said, "I'm Detective Juliet O'Hara. It's nice to meet you both."

"Same here," voiced Chuck.

"We've just been privately hired by Sarah and Charles," said Gus to Juliet. "We wanted to ask you if there have been any reports made about a Brent..."

"Calloway," finished Sarah.

"Brent Calloway."

"Well," said Juliet, "I haven't heard anything, but I'll run his name through the database. One second." She sat back down at her desk and Chuck heard keyboard keys clacking. "Is this him?" She asked Sarah, turning the screen to her. Chuck indeed recognized the picture from the phony case file. It was so interesting to him how the NSA had managed to put such detail into the file of someone who wasn't even real.

"Yes," said Sarah. "That's definitely him."

"I don't see anything out of the ordinary. Is something wrong?"

"I'm afraid dear Mr. Calloway is missing, Jules," said Shawn.

"How long has he been gone?"

"I'm not sure, but no one's heard from him since Thursday," Sarah stated, and Chuck could tell she was trying to establish pain in her voice.

"Well, we can definitely file a missing person's report," said Juliet.

"Maybe that would be best," said Sarah. "Is there any way that maybe we could get a warrant so that Shawn could investigate Brent's place?"

"Shawn, Gus, why don't you go with Ms. Walker to ask Chief Vick? She's not in right now, but she should be back any minute."

"Thank you for your help, Detective," said Sarah.

"Thank you so much, Jules," said Shawn.

Chuck turned to follow the three into the chief's office, but Sarah motioned for him to stay. He wondered why until he saw her lean her shoulder against Shawn's and hook her hand into his. Looking over at Juliet, Chuck saw her staring at the two intertwined hands curiously, almost in a jealous fashion, but after a few moments she distracted herself by looking to Chuck. He himself couldn't help but look at the display in a manner much the same. "Uh, can I get you anything, Mr. Carmichael? There's coffee, of course, and I think there's actually a muffin left today. Usually there's not."

"No, but, uh, thanks."

Juliet nodded and smiled. She sat down at her computer and began to type once more while Chuck looked around. After a few moments, she said, "Would you like to sit down? I could get you a chair."

Chuck decided that maybe a chair would be nice and told Juliet so. She retrieved a chair from a nearby unoccupied desk and rolled it to hers. Chuck thanked her and she went back to work. To fill time, he watched what was going on with Sarah, Shawn, and Gus, but was distracted when a tall, thin, authoritative-looking man came to the desk Juliet had take the chair from, stared at it in confusion, took a brief look around, and walked straight up to her desk. "O'Hara, where's my chair?" He asked, obviously annoyed. The man noticed Chuck for the first time and stared at what he was sitting in. "Who is this?" He asked in the same tone as before.

"Carlton, this is Charles Carmichael, and he is a client of Shawn and Gus. He is waiting for his...friend?" She said, looking at Chuck as if to ask him of what relation he was to Sarah.

"Yeah, she's my...she's my friend," said Chuck.

"...he is waiting for his friend to finish talking to the chief," she finished.

"And why is my-"

"I gave him your chair because you're supposed to be on your lunch break, Carlton."

Chuck got up quickly. "He can have the chair, really, it's fine."

Juliet frowned at Carlton. "Anyways, Mr. Carmichael, this is my partner, Carlton Lassiter. He's the Head Detective of this station, and he can get another chair."

"You get another chair, O'Hara, and give Carmichael yours."

"Carlton..." She sighed. "Fine. Carlton gets his chair, and Mr. Carmichael, you can have mine. I'll get one from the conference room."

"Actually, I'll stand. Really, I don't mind at all," said Chuck.

"Are you sure?" Said Juliet.

"You heard him, O'Hara, he's fine," said Lassiter.

She rolled her eyes as Carlton rolled his seat back to his desk. "Sorry," she said to Chuck. "Usually we get along much better than that."

"I understand," said Chuck, thinking about his fellow Nerd Herders.

At that moment, Sarah, Shawn, and Gus came out of the chief's office, Sarah and Shawn still holding hands.

"Well, Carl Carmichael," said Shawn, "looks like we're off to investigate Brent's place."

"Good," said Chuck.

Shawn said goodbye to Juliet on his way out and Chuck did the same. As they left the police station, Chuck saw the white surveillance van that Casey as in just down the street. He began to think about what sort of things Casey was analyzing about Shawn and Gus, and also about Juliet and Lassiter. Chuck hadn't been on this case for too long, but he already thought that it was one of the most interesting missions he had ever been assigned.


	3. Chapter 3

When they had reached the supposed residence of Brent Calloway, Shawn, Gus, Sarah, and Chuck stood on the porch, staring at the small house. The door was found unlocked, as Sarah and Chuck expected, and the four walked right in. Chuck was amazed at the details that had been put into Brent's house. Just like when he and Sarah had gone undercover as a married couple, the man's face had been put into pictures and mail had been printed with his name on it. The place had been left in the normal disarray that often occurred in the house of someone not expecting company, with Brent's bed unmade and the rugs on the floor crooked.

Shawn closed his eyes and brought his fingers to his temples. "I'm sensing...a man, a man named...All Over. No, Olive. Oliver. Ollie! Yes, Ollie. Ollie...Jenkins." Chuck studied his face to see if it looked like an Intersect was working in Shawn's head, but he couldn't tell. Shawn then went over to Brent's desk and picked up a business card that said:

_Ollie Jenkins  
Solid Ground Auto and Body Shop  
555-345-8903_

Chuck found it amazing that Shawn was able to pick out a name and card from such a messy desk. His thoughts were mixed. He didn't really believe in psychics, but maybe Shawn was telling the truth. Then again, someone with a remarkable ability to deduce might notice the same thing, and if that were true, then the suspicions that the NSA had about him were probably correct.

"Sarah, has Brent gotten into a car accident recently?" Asked Shawn.

"Not that I know of. Last time I saw it, his car looked fine. He loves it."

"Do you think maybe he could have taken it in for something really small? I mean, if he loves his car so much, he would have done anything to make sure it was in tip-top shape, right?" Gus said. "But, maybe Brent kept this card around just in case something happened."

"You're absolutely right, Gus. That is why I am going to put this card into Sarah's soft, capable, and responsible hands." Shawn smiled and gently gave the card to Sarah. The search continued.

Nothing else irregular or promising was found. There were no indications of a break-in or even a struggle. Chuck knew that this "case" had been made extra difficult on purpose to test Shawn's capabilities. So far, however, he seemed to be on the right track.

After the entire house had been scanned, Shawn suggested, "Lunch, anyone? It's Gus' treat." Gus glared at his friend once more. Sarah looked at Chuck. "Lunch sounds nice," she said.

All throughout lunch, Shawn and Gus continued to talk and talk, but never uttered a word that would confirm any suspicions the NSA had. Shawn and Sarah made googly eyes at each other as they ate, and it became noticeable that Gus had given up on trying to woo her. After the meal was completed and lunch was paid for (by Gus, of course), Sarah said that the two investigators had done more than enough today, and that she and Charles would return the next day.

After Sarah and Chuck had gotten into Sarah's car, they drove around the block once to make sure the men in the Psych office didn't see them; then pulled up next to the surveillance van and climbed inside.

Casey was listening to the voices of Shawn and Gus through the bug that Sarah had planted in the office. "So far they haven't said anything that might be helpful to us," said Casey, and they continued listening.

"Ah man, I forgot about all this popcorn we have to clean up," said Shawn. "I can't believe Sarah saw us doing that."

"Whatever, Shawn. It was your idea," Gus said.

"Yeah, and it was fun. I won, by the way."

Gus sighed. "What do you think of this case?"

"I don't know, truth is, I'm stumped at the moment. The only lead we have is that business card, and that could be nothing. We'll have to call the number today and ask about Brent. Honestly, the case is toward the bottom of my list. I have a really good feeling about me and Sarah."

"Really? What about Juliet?"

"What about Jules?"

"Nothing, never mind. Besides, Shawn, I don't really you and Sarah being involved is such a good idea. She seems to really be attracted to your so-called psychic abilities. I mean, what happens when she finds out you're not really psychic?"

Chuck's eyebrows popped up as he exchanged looks with Sarah and Casey. Shawn continued. "Look man, I don't know, but we've only known each other for a few hours and already I feel a serious connection to her. That's gotta mean something."

"Maybe. I'm going home, Shawn."

"No, stay and watch _The X-Files _with me."

"Shawn, you know that show freaks me out."

"Come on, please? We'll pick a non-scary one."

"They're all at least a little bit creepy."

Their conversation went back and forth for a little while longer until Casey turned the audio off in the van. "Good work Casey, Chuck," said Sarah. "I'd say we accomplished a good amount today."

"We now know the suspect isn't psychic, so either he's a very good detective or he has a Intersect," said Casey.

"I don't know," said Chuck. "I was watching him, and I really couldn't tell if he had an Intersect for not."

"I'll use my influence on Shawn to get closer to him. Maybe I can get him to talk," said Sarah.

Chuck felt uncomfortable with that idea, but he realized that it was probably the best way of doing things. Later, Sarah, Casey and Chuck returned to Castle to make their report to General Beckman. They told her what they had overheard and how Shawn and Gus worked.

"And General," Casey stated, "I would like to officially state that as of tomorrow I am starting surveillance on Detective Juliet O'Hara."

"What?" Said Chuck. "Why?"

"She seems to have a connection to the suspect, General," Sarah answered. "And if she is working with Spencer, she would have access to the police department's files."

General Beckman nodded. "I did give Major Casey permission to perform surveillance when he felt that it was needed, and from what I'm hearing, this is one of those situations."

"O'Hara seems to have a model record," said Casey. "But it's always better to be safe than sorry."

"Why do you always have to go after the nice people?" Asked Chuck.

"I can't exactly answer that, Mr. Bartowski," said Beckman. "But remember that everyone is suspicious in this case. Goodnight, team, and good luck tomorrow."

As Chuck drove home, he almost felt sad. He liked the people in this case, even if they were mysterious and frightening. He liked Shawn, he liked Gus, and he liked Juliet. That Lassiter guy seemed kind of grumpy, but maybe he wasn't that bad. After he had gotten home, he got a glass of milk and sat down at the table with Ellie. He felt better after talking with her for a few moments, and as he brushed his teeth he tried to change his perspective on the whole situation. He did his best, but even then he found it hard to not care about the people he had met that day.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Chuck woke up bright and early, hoping to get a few hours of work in at the Buy More before going back to Santa Barbara with Sarah and Casey. He had managed to get himself completely ready for the work day when Sarah called, saying that Shawn had called her and had asked her to come to the Psych office immediately because he had pertinent information.

When he had arrived at Castle, Chuck changed his clothes and he and Sarah began to make the trip to Santa Barbara, with Casey driving the white van behind them. "So, what do you think about, uh...Shawn?" He asked her once in the car.

"What do you mean? As a _person? _Chuck, you can't possibly think I'd actually be interested in him!"

"I don't. I mean, I didn't. It's just that he's...you're not, are you?"

"Chuck, I'm just doing my job."

"Actually, when I asked you what you thought about him, I meant to ask if you thought he was FULCRUM."

"Why didn't you just say so?"

"Because I-" He stopped. "Never mind."

"I'm not sure. He's lying to nearly everyone about being psychic, and I don't know how likely it is that he could be performing at that level without having an Intersect."

Chuck nodded in understanding. "What about Gus?"

"Guster probably isn't working directly for FULCRUM, but if Shawn is, he probably knows a lot."

They were silent for a little while until Chuck changed the subject and they began talking about something different. He knew that Sarah was probably right, unfortunately, no matter how likeable these suspects were.

When Chuck and Sarah entered the Psych office, they found Shawn and Gus to be sitting at their computers. Shawn jumped up when he saw them. "Good morning, Sarah. Charlie."

"Good morning, Shawn," Sarah said in a very smooth tone.

Gus got up from his chair and walked over to join the other three. "We have some more information on your case, Sarah. Yesterday, after you guys left, Shawn got a _vivid _premonition about that body shop we found the business card for. Even though he gave the card to Sarah, he was able to see the number in his mind and called it."

"I wasn't able to get Ollie on the phone because...wait for iiiiiiiiiiiiit..." Shawn slowly raised up his hand and then brought it down in one swift motion. "He's been on vacation for a few days now, and nobody knows where or even when he'll be back."

"Shawn and I also asked about Brent's passed dealings with the place and found out that he went to get his oil changed there on Tuesday, exactly one day before Ollie left for vacation, and two days before Brent went missing," Gus said.

Chuck had to keep himself from smiling. This was all so cool! Everything was going just as the counterfeit case file had directed.

"So...this is all about Brent's car?" Sarah asked.

"Maybe," Gus answered. "Today, we're planning on making a visit to the body shop so that Shawn can do his thing."

"Yes, I need to touch, feel, sense, even though the inflection of someone's voice can tell me volumes psychically," Shawn added. "And after we're done at the body shop, we'll go back to police station and talk to Jules."

The fake body shop surpassed Chuck's expectations by a landslide. There were cars of every make and model everywhere with their hoods open or with someone under them. Workers with dirtied uniforms and stained rags milled around everywhere. Oil stains had been put on the floor here and there. Chuck found it amazing the length that the NSA was going to on this case.

Shawn walked up to a random worker and asked about a Mr. Fargo. They were directed to a man in normal clothes sitting in an office alongside garage. Chuck hadn't seen the man before, but to him it was obvious that he was an undercover NSA agent.

"Hello there, Mr. Fargo. I'm Shawn Spencer, head psychic for the SBPD, and this is my associate, Lucky Charmer." Gus gave a sly smile and Chuck and Sarah stared in confusion. "We spoke on the phone yesterday," Shawn continued.

"Oh yeah, yeah, you wanted to know about Ollie. Well, I'm afraid I can't tell you much more. All I know is, on Tuesday the guy you asked about brought in his car for an oil change. We asked our new guy, Harold, to take care of it, and he did. Wednesday morning, I got a call from Ollie saying he'd be gone for a while, he didn't know how long. I don't know anything else."

"Might you know where we could find this...Harold?" Shawn questioned.

"Yeah, he's right over there."

Harold was short and skinny, and a baseball cap covered his wavy red hair. Shawn and Gus approached him and the other two followed. "Hello, Harold," Gus greeted. "We need to ask a few questions. We work for the police. Would you remember doing an oil change an a particular car on Tuesday?"

"I do oil changes all the time. Let's see, Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday..."

"It's a two-door, dark blue convertible. That's all I know, I'm sorry," Sarah said.

"Ah, yes, I remember now," said Harold. "It was a nice car, but I remember something strange about it. There was a paint scratch along the bottom of the door, and there seemed to be some sort of gold foil or something underneath the blue, and it wasn't paint. I asked Ollie about it, because he's very schooled when it comes to cars, and he told me he'd take a look at it. Then I went home."

"Thank you very much, Harold," said Gus.

As they all walked out of the fabricated body shop, Shawn stopped in the middle of the small parking lot and closed his eyes, reached his hands out in front of him, gripped air, and acted like he was steering a car. "Sarah was right! I'm sensing that this is all about Brent's car. Yes, the car. The car is the key! And I'm also sensing Ollie. Ollie is putting out terrible vibrations. We have to go tell Jules."

When they had reached the police station, Sarah and Chuck had to walk quickly to keep up with the swift paces of Shawn and Gus. When they had reached Juliet's desk, Shawn dramatically through his hands in the air and threw them onto the surface.

"Shawn, what are you doing?" Juliet said.

"Quickly, Jules, look up the name Ollie Jenkins."

"Oh, is this for your missing person's case?" She asked, looking at Chuck and Sarah.

"Yes, and we think we have a good lead. Look him up, look him up!" Shawn whined, shaking his hands.

"Okay, okay, just calm down, Shawn." She quickly typed in the name and looked back up at him. "Everything looks normal."

"No accounts of embezzlement or any other sort of outrageous thievery?"

Juliet shook her head.

"All right, that's okay. I can still work with that." Shawn began to pace; then suddenly stopped. "I have a theory."

"What is it?" Asked Sarah.

"Sarah, are any of Brent's relatives scandalously rich?"

"Yeah, I think his uncle was. He died last year. In fact, I think Brent inherited the car from his uncle."

Shawn closed his eyes tightly yet again. "Yes, yes, I see it now. After the passing of his uncle, Brent gets a magnificent car, but unbeknownst to everyone else, under the smooth blue paint is a layer of gold."

"Gold? Shawn, are you crazy?" Asked Gus.

"That's what Harold said he saw," Shawn said.

Chuck smiled. "I saw something like that in a comic book once."

Everyone stared at Chuck for a moment, not saying anything. "Good point," Shawn said, finally. "Someone has thought of it before, so is it really _that _far-fetched? Bless you for your input, Carlos."

Chuck scratched behind his head and grinned, liking all these nicknames. Sarah smiled warmly at him, and he could tell it was genuine.

"Go on, Shawn," said Gus.

"So there was gold under the paint, and Brent may or may not have known about it. Maybe it was stolen gold, and the uncle was trying to secretly unload it onto his nephew. Anyway, it was there. Harold told Ollie about the scratch and when he went to look at it, he saw the gold and made the quick assumption that it was real. I'm sensing that Ollie scraped off more of the paint along the bottom so that Brent wouldn't notice it, and when he saw that the gold was all around, he knew that this car had to be worth, much, much more than it appeared. That day, he probably followed Brent home, took note of his address, and made a plan. Maybe, maybe he's got Brent, or maybe..."

On cue, Sarah began to cry and Chuck watched in awe. Shawn put his arm around her and pulled her in close, and Sarah played along by putting her head into his shoulder tenderly. "I'm so sorry, Sarah. But I promise you that Gus and I are going to get to the bottom of this."

"If there's anything that I can do for you, Miss Walker, please let me know," said Juliet.

"Thank...you," said Sarah in a very shaky manner.

"Shawn, are you sure you know what you're saying?" Said Gus. "I mean, it seems like you're jumping to a lot of conclusions here."

"Gus, please, don't underestimate the power of the spirits," said Shawn. "For Sarah's sake, I wish I were wrong, but unfortunately, I'm not."

Gus rolled his eyes.

"Well, since it seems like this case is getting more serious, maybe you guys should go talk to the chief again," suggested Juliet.

"Good idea," Shawn said softly, his arm still around Sarah. Again, she motioned for Chuck to stay where he was, maybe to keep an eye on Juliet, who was again looking at Shawn and Sarah. She turned herself away and looked back at her computer; then looked up at Chuck. "Um...Shawn and Sarah...are they-"

"Uh, I don't know," said Chuck quickly.

"Okay," she said. Again, went back to what she was doing and then spoke up again, with a smile on her face. "Do you like her?" She whispered.

"I...well, you know, that's...that depends on your definition of, you know, that word."

Juliet just grinned at him. "Does she know?"

"I'm really not sure. Uh, you know, Detective, one of those muffins you offered me yesterday is sounding pretty good right now."

"Sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have asked. And there aren't any muffins left today. There's coffee if you want some."

"No, that's okay, but thank you."

Chuck probably would have told Juliet about his relationship with Shawn if she weren't a suspect. He supposed he could have asked her about her relationship with Shawn to get more information about the case, but things like that weren't really something that men asked women about, especially ones they barely knew. Besides, that sort of thing was outside of Chuck's comfort zone anyway.

They both were silent until the chief came out of her office with Shawn, Gus, and Sarah. "O'Hara, Lassiter," she said, "I now want you both on this case. I'm going to ask you two to go with Mr. Spencer, Mr. Guster, and their clients to Calloway's house and take a look around. I know that four of you have already been there, but it can't hurt to sweep the place a second time."

Juliet and Lassiter got up from their desks and did as they were told, following the other four out the door and outside.


	5. Chapter 5

When everyone had arrived, Shawn lead the group to the driveway and sat down in the middle of it, his fingertips to his head as always. "Spencer, what are you doing?" Lassiter asked.

"I must sit on the ground and feel the heat from the pavement in order to read everything properly," he answered. "I see...glitter! Shiny...glimmering...gold! Yes, we are all looking for a gold fleck." Everybody looked down and searched until Juliet said, "Found it!"

Shawn got up and looked at the tiny piece of gold she had on her finger. "Perfect! Thank you, Jules. What'd we do without you?" She smiled warmly and Shawn continued, "Lassie, evidence bag." Shawn held out his hand and Lassiter handed him a bag in a manner that reminded Chuck of Casey.

After taking the bag, Shawn grabbed Juliet's hand gently and carefully put the piece of gold in the bag, then closed it up. When he was done, he gave the small sack to Juliet and walked back to the middle of the driveway, sticking his hands out. Chuck could tell that he was thinking hard.

Suddenly, he turned to Gus. "Wasn't that car in the same place yesterday?" He said, pointing to a white sedan parked across the street by the side of the road.

"Yeah, I think it was," Gus responded.

"Actually, that car's been here for a few days now. It doesn't belong to anyone around here, and it hasn't moved since it's been there," Sarah said.

"That's Ollie's," he said. "That's Ollie's car."

"We won't know that for sure until we check out the license plates, Spencer," said Lassiter.

"We will. But it works out. Ollie knew that there was gold under the paint of Brent's car. When he came to pick the car up, Ollie probably followed him back here. He parked his car right over there, got out and came to the driveway as Brent was going inside. Maybe they talked for a little bit, but I'm sensing that Ollie threatened Brent and told him to get in the car, and he drove it off with him inside."

Tears rolled down Sarah's cheeks yet again. Shawn began to comfort her once more and Chuck stood awkwardly. "He could be anywhere by now," she cried.

Shawn assured Sarah that they'd find him, and she said that she'd had enough for one day. After driving back to the Psych office, Chuck and Sarah drove around the block and then went to join Casey. Again, they listened to Shawn and Gus' conversation.

"Okay, Shawn, how did you do all that today?" Gus asked.

"Where? You mean at the station or at Brent's place?"

"Both."

"First of all, I noticed that one of the scraping...tool...thingies near where Harold the mechanic was had a little bit of gold on it, and I'm almost positive it wasn't paint, so obviously our friend Ollie had used it on Brent's car if Harold's telling the truth. I knew that if there was a paint scratch on the car like Harold said, there would probably be gold somewhere on the driveway. Last but not least, at Brent's house, when I sat down I realized that I was resting my butt on broken glass."

"You were sitting on shards of broken glass?"

"Yes, and it was extremely uncomfortable. I realized that there must have been some sort of struggle, and a window was broken. Maybe Ollie punched in the car window to show how serious he was."

"And what about Sarah? Are you gonna ask her out?"

"I'm thinking about it. Of course, her best friend is missing."

"Just tell her you want to take her out to help take her mind off her problems."

"Yeah, that could work. Ooh, I could take her to that sci-fi movie, uh...what's it called?"

"_Aliens and Avalanches?"_

"Yeah, that's it."

"Shawn, Sarah doesn't seem the like the type that would go for a poorly-made science fiction flick."

"Mmm, you're probably right."

"I have work to do, Shawn. I'll see you tomorrow."

With that, there was no more dialogue and Casey turned off the sound in the van. "Well, you two can head back to Burbank. Right now I'm heading to the police station to wait for O'Hara to leave."

"Casey, do you really have to do that?" Asked Chuck.

"Chuck, I'm with Casey on this one," said Sarah. "I had my suspicions before, but I mean, today convinced me that obviously there is something going on between Shawn and Detective O'Hara."

Chuck thought back to the driveway and supposed he saw what Sarah was talking about. Shawn and Juliet certainly had some sort of...chemistry, he guessed. He still didn't think that Juliet had anything to do with the case, but at least now he saw the meaning behind Casey following her.

Sarah and Chuck said goodbye and headed home.

* * *

**Author's note: First off, thank you so much to all the people who have followed, favorited, and reviewed. Second off, my apologies for the short chapter. The next one will be longer (hopefully). Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying the story!**


	6. Chapter 6

After Casey had returned to Burbank later that evening, the team made their report to General Beckman at his house. "I didn't find anything suspicious about O'Hara's behavior, General," Casey said. "So far we haven't found any damning evidence about any of those people."

"Well, you're going to have to keep looking," said the General.

"I'm doing my best to get closer to Spencer," said Sarah. "I think that might be our best shot at getting the truth out of him."

"Is it really? I mean surely there's…another way…" Chuck cleared his throat. "Or you know, maybe she's right and that _is…" _He sighed. "Go on."

"Do everything in your power, Agent Walker," said General Beckman. "I don't expect this mission to last much longer. Am I clear?"

"Yes ma'am," Sarah said, and Chuck and Casey did the same. The General then signed off.

Sarah turned to the other two. "Tomorrow, I'll ask Spencer out on a date and do my very best to get him to say something. If he doesn't...we might have to blow our covers and take him and some of the others back to Castle and interrogate them."

"Are you sure the General would want that?" Asked Chuck.

"Chuck, this mission is and was supposed to be quick. That's how it was designed. If we don't get something soon, it's doubtful that we ever will in this sort of manner."

Chuck sighed and nodded; then said goodnight and headed back home.

* * *

The next morning at the Psych office, Shawn and Gus were ecstatic to see Sarah and Chuck. "Guess what, you guys! Juliet ran the license plates on that car we found yesterday and they're definitely Ollie's!" Said Shawn.

"...which means that not only does Ollie go on vacation on the very day that Brent goes missing, but that his car was found outside of the man's house," Gus continued. "I'd say we've got ourselves a pretty strong lead."

"Wow," said Sarah. "That's great, but...how will we know were Ollie took Brent?"

"That's another thing," said Shawn. "Last night, while eating a very large bag of Doritos, I received a tip-off from the spirit world. I recalled that when we were talking with that Fargo guy, his feet were up on the desk that that there was white dust on his pants, just like the kind that were on mine after walking around in Brent's driveway, and-OH!" Shawn bent over, clutching his head with both hands.

"Are you okay?" Asked Sarah.

"I'm getting something very strong, something I can't believe I didn't see before! There was another mysterious object under Fargo's feet...a teeny, tiny piece of blue paint, of the very same color as Brent's car!" Shawn stood up again and smiled. "Huh...I wonder how that got there."

"Fargo was in on it?" Chuck said, already knowing the answer.

"You got it, Chazzy. Gus and I were just waiting for you guys to show up so we could go down to the police station and tell Lassie to bring him in to be grilled."

"Speaking of which, how about some grilled meat, Shawn? I haven't eaten since breakfast this morning, and all I had was a bowl of Fruit Loops."

"Gus, it's not even lunchtime yet," said Shawn. "And you might want to grab something now, because I don't think we'll be having lunch today. Dinner, we can do. Are you guys up for supper tonight?" He asked Sarah and Chuck.

Sarah took both of Shawn's hands. "Actually, I was wondering if I might take you out, just you and me, to say thank you, and to get my mind off of all of this," she said.

"Of course," said Shawn, "I'd love to. Gus, I hope you're okay with that."

"Whatever," he said. "I'm going to get me some meat, even if I have to dine alone to get it."

With that, the four left for the police station, and when they arrived, Shawn again flew to Juliet's desk. "Good news, Jules. We know of someone that needs some serious interrogation. A Mr. Patrick Fargo could potentially be quite deep in this investigation and should be taken in at his place of work immediately!"

Juliet didn't say anything for a few seconds. "I'm sorry Shawn, what?"

"Jules, you ruined my perfect word...flow...thing."

"I'm sorry, it's just that I'm next to positive that I was followed last night, and I'm just kind of distracted by it."

Sarah and Chuck exchanged worrisome looks.

"Someone followed you?" Shawn said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, but I've been sitting here all morning trying to figure out who would want to follow me, and why."

"What did he look like?"

"Well, I'd never seen him before. He was strong-looking, with brown hair, and...I don't really know much else. At first I saw thought he was just some guy from my neighborhood, because he was right behind me when I drove onto my street, but then I went out to the grocery store and I swear I saw him in the parking lot sitting in that same van that looked like it came right out of a spy movie or something. When I came home, I saw that same vehicle in my rear-view mirror."

"Who do you think it could be?" Asked Gus.

"That's the thing, it could be anyone from any of the cases I'm involved in now or any in the past, for that matter."

"You're not staying by yourself, are you?" Asked Shawn.

"Shawn, I have a gun, it's okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, but thank you."

"Okay," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"As Shawn was saying earlier, we need to bring in Patrick Fargo for interrogation. He might be Ollie's accomplice," said Gus.

Shawn explained to her his reasoning behind this accusation, and soon Patrick Fargo was sitting in Interrogation Room B. Lassiter and Juliet sat across from him at the table and Shawn, Gus, Sarah, and Chuck sat behind the two-way mirror.

"Mr. Fargo, how close are you to Ollie Jenkins?" Asked Juliet.

"We work together," he said. "But I've never cared much for him. He's a selfish cheapskate."

"Why do you say that?"

"Look, I've got a sick wife, and I don't make enough money. A few weeks back, I asked Jenkins for some help financially and he laughed in my face, even though I've seen how that creep lives. He's got a nice BMW and a house big enough for a family of twelve. You know, Solid Ground isn't the only place he owns. He's got a few other car places and a couple of restaurants, plus money he inherited from his parents."

"What do you know about Brent Calloway, Fargo?" Asked Lassiter.

Chuck could see the undercover agent portraying Fargo trying to let tension get to him. This was going great.

"I'll tell you what I told that psychic guy. He brought in his car and wanted an oil change. I told the new guy to do it. He did it. The guy came and got it, and the next thing I knew Ollie's calling and telling me he's gonna be gone for a while."

"He just left?"

"Yes."

"And he gave no indication as to where."

"N-no, he didn't."

Lassiter stood up and leaned over Fargo. "Listen, you lying little twerp, I wanna know where Jenkins is and I wanna know now."

"I told you, I don't know!"

Chuck suddenly saw Shawn walk out from behind the two-way mirror and go directly into the interrogation room. "Lassie, you're right. He is lying."

"Spencer, what the-" But Lassiter was interrupted by Shawn walking directly in front of him and going straight for Patrick Fargo.

"Last night, I had a vision. I saw dust, dirty, filthy dust, and not just any dust, driveway dust. It was on your pants, Fargo, and it came from Brent Calloway's driveway. And, as if that weren't enough, between the treads of your shoe...was a tiny bit of blue paint, in a hue matching that of Brent's car."

"Dust and paint? That's the evidence you have?"

"We all had that white chalky gravely stuff under our feet after being in Brent's driveway," said Shawn.

"But Shawn," said Juliet, "If Calloway went missing on Thursday, how could the dust have still been on his pants yesterday?"

"Because, Jules, he'd been back, maybe a few times." Shawn stared intently at him.

Fargo looked like he was about to crack, and then he did. "Okay, okay! I was in on it, and I'm not proud to admit that. That Calloway guy must be really rich, because Ollie found out that he had a layer of gold sitting under the paint of his car. He told me that he was gonna find a way to sell the car and that if I would cover for him and do some other things..."

"What other things?" Asked Lassiter.

"I had to go to the driveway and look for any gold that might have been left behind, 'Even if I had to crawl around on the ground for it,' he said. He also wanted me to feed his dogs while he was gone."

"Okay, continue."

"...he said that if I did those things, I could have a share of the money, for my wife. He never said anything about hurting the kid, he just said that somehow he'd convince him to sell it. I wasn't thinking right, I haven't been since my wife got admitted to the hospital. It was a really stupid thing to do."

Sarah began to cry in front of Gus, and she collapsed into Chuck's arms. He certainly wasn't complaining now.

"Then where's Jenkins?" Lassiter said.

"I really don't know; he didn't tell me. But I wouldn't be surprised if Ollie's taking Calloway to Florida. He's got a summer home in West Palm Beach where he has this big garage for all his cars."

"Florida?" Cried Sarah.

"We'll call the police department there and see what we can do," Juliet said to Shawn. He nodded and then returned back behind the two-way mirror.

Sarah thanked him and Gus for his efforts and told him that for now, she just wanted to go back home and would see him tonight for their date. As everyone rode back to the Psych office, Chuck was full of questions. Casey was great at following people, so how was it possible that Juliet had saw him—three times? _Well, she is a detective,_ he thought. _And a cop, so she has to look out for stuff like that all the time._ Still, Chuck knew that the fact that she had caught onto him was probably driving Casey nuts.

Next, he wondered how Sarah was going to drive anything out of Shawn that evening. She was smart and probably had a plan, but still he worried that they would get nowhere in the next few hours, and in that case...well, it was back to Castle...with Shawn, Gus, and maybe even Juliet and Lassiter.

Again, Shawn and Gus didn't stop talking until Sarah and Chuck got out of the car, and all was silent between them until they opened the door to the white van and received an immediate grunt from Casey.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: Hello, everyone! Again, thank you to everyone who has followed/favorited/reviewed this story, and I'm sorry it took me this long to get this chapter posted! I hope you're enjoying the story.**

* * *

"I can't believe this," Casey groaned. "How in God's name..."

"Casey, relax," said Sarah.

"I want you to know something, I was at least forty feet behind her at all times, and never once did I notice her looking at me."

"We understand, and what you need to do is forget about it for now. Detective O'Hara doesn't suspect any of us. What we all need to do is get ready for tonight. Chuck, you will _stay with Casey _in the van_. _You remember what the General said, you need to be with either one of us at all times, no matter what happens. Casey, I need to you to be ready to take in Spencer if I get anything out of him."

"Wait wait wait," Chuck interrupted. "So, what happens if Shawn says something and Casey has to go help you attack him or whatever? What do I do?"

"You stay in the van with the door locked and you don't move," Casey answered.

"But I thought the General said-"

"We know what she said, idiot, but Spencer could be dangerous," responded Casey.

Chuck didn't say anything else.

"I need to go back to Burbank and get ready," said Sarah. "You guys can stay here if you want."

They decided that that was what they wanted to do, so Sarah left and Casey and Chuck were left alone in the van. For a few moments, they were silent, until Casey said, "Wanna listen in on Spencer and Guster?"

"Sure," Chuck answered, leaning back and putting his feet up on a panel. Casey shot him a scary look and he slowly put them down.

As Casey turned on the sound to the bug hidden inside the Psych office, they found it to be quiet on the inside. "Well, whaddaya know?" he said. "They finally shut up."

But soon, they heard Shawn sigh. "Well, Gus," he said. "Things are finally starting to look good."

"Don't start with me, Shawn," Gus responded. "I know, you got a hot date and managed to get to the bottom of yet another case. Now, it looks as if they're gonna find Brent Calloway, and if they do you'll win the undying affection of a beautiful girl while as usual, Gus gets absolutely nothing."

"Ah, come on, Gus."

"Don't try to tell me it's not true."

"What about that time when you convinced a bunch of attractive people you were a model? Everybody bought that."

"This is different. I know you have something real with Sarah, or at least I think so. That _is_ what you keep telling me."

"Yeah, but I don't know. I'm kind of getting the feeling that she's hiding something from me, what..._I just don't know,_" he said in an overdramatic way.

"You're reading too much into it. I know, because I'll bet you and Sarah are gonna grow old together and leave old Gus behind, alone and unwanted."

"Ah, Gus, you know I'd never-"

Casey cut the sound. "I'm tired of listening to those losers," he simply stated.

"Should we warn Sarah about what Shawn just said, about the secret thing?" Chuck asked.

"Yes, but I don't think it's anything to be worried about. If he does figure everything out, Walker can defend herself. Trust me, Spencer has not been physically trained. He doesn't even work out."

"How do you know?"

"Are you kidding me? It's obvious. Just like it's obvious you don't work out."

"Thanks, Casey."

* * *

That evening, Sarah arrived at the van, all decked out in a beautiful dark purple dress and heels. "You look great, Sarah," Chuck complimented, and she smiled in return.

"Spencer and I are eating at Climbing Vines on Barker Street. You guys follow me. When we get there, drive around to the back," Sarah instructed. "I'm hoping this won't take long. Chuck-"

"Yeah, I know, stay with Casey or in the van with the doors locked," Chuck finished.

Sarah got out of the van and into her car. They followed her to the restaurant; then parked in the alley out back, waiting. The sun set as they listened through the wire Sarah was wearing to her address hosts and waitresses, and finally Shawn as he arrived.

"Hello, Sarah," he greeted.

"Hi, Shawn. I've been looking forward to this all day," she told him. Chuck wanted to throw up.

"Me too," he said.

"Thank you so much, for everything," she said. "Now I know we'll find Brent. I just know it. I know I must have said this, like, a thousand times, but, you're amazing, Shawn Spencer. You're talented, brilliant...sexy..."

Chuck shifted in his chair awkwardly. "Getting a little antsy there, Bartowski?" Asked Casey with a smirk.

He didn't answer.

"Well, Sarah," said Shawn, "I feel as if I've been chosen, selected by a higher power to have my abilities. It's not really me at all. I suppose I was just born this way, really."

Sarah laughed. "Not to mention hilarious. Shawn, I'll be honest, I think I'm in love with you."

Chuck's eyes widened. He swallowed hard.

"The feeling is mutual, Sarah," said Shawn. "You're beautiful a-and sweet, and smart."

"Are we ready to order?" Asked a waitress.

They ordered and continued talking. Sarah reeled Shawn in closer and closer, until finally she made her move. "Shawn, I have to say, I'm getting a vibe from you. I think you're hiding something from me."

"What do you mean?"

"I can tell you've got a big secret, and I like my men to be honest with me."

"W-what do you mean, secrets? I don't have any...secrets. I'm exactly who I saw I am, I mean, why would you ask something like that?"

"Oh, don't worry. I'm going to like you no matter what you say. I've dated men with wild pasts before."

"You know, this is funny, I was going to say the same thing about you. I've been getting something from you all day..."

"Shawn, would you excuse me? I need to run to the ladies' room real quick."

"Sure."

Soon, Chuck and Casey heard Sarah start to whisper, "Casey, there's a man in the restaurant who looks very suspicious. He keeps looking at me and he looks as if he's got a few weapons on him. I need Chuck to get in here and see if he can flash on him. Chuck, he's tall and is wearing a white shirt and black pants. You should see him right away. I think I'm closing in on Shawn, I just need you two to keep this guy out of my way."

"Got it, Walker," said Casey. "All right, Bartowski, you heard her. Let's go."

"Wait a minute, I can't go in there. What if Shawn sees me?"

"Don't let him. Come on."

Casey turned off Sarah's audio and they went out the door into the night. Casey took out his gun as they moved along the side of the restaurant. Chuck pulled up tall, and while Casey waited in the shadow of the restaurant, he eased his way inside, immediately ducking past the hostess and sliding beneath a table. He looked for the man Sarah described but got distracted by the sight of Shawn and Sarah, their faces close, their hands clamped together. He grit his teeth and got back to what he was doing. Finally, he saw the man and immediately flashed.

When it was over, he couldn't believe it. He raced back outside and almost ran into Casey. "That man..." he huffed, "is named David Morris, and he's one of seven participants in Project Cerebrum, the project Shawn was suspected of. Shawn's not a part of it, but Morris is extremely dangerous. We have to get Sarah and Shawn out now."

Without a word, Casey ran back to the van, and by the time they had gotten inside, shots had started to ring out from inside the restaurant.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: Thank you all so much for waiting for this chapter! Again, I'm sorry it took so long for me to get it up. It won't take me that long to post the next update, I promise. As usual, thanks for all of the follows/favorites/reviews!**

* * *

"Stay back!" Casey screamed as he ran toward the restaurant once again. Chuck shut the doors behind him and locked them as he had been instructed. Sitting down, he tried to contact Sarah, but heard nothing. He began to pace, not wanting to be still but not quite knowing what to do.

Suddenly, Chuck heard what sounded like a high pitched-scream coming from outside, but it wasn't like any sort of cry he'd ever heard. He stared at the door for a moment before opening it gingerly in spite of himself. Shawn was running to his motorcycle, screaming like a little girl. Chuck watched as he stopped for a moment and began to dial his phone. He knew that he was probably calling the police, and Chuck didn't know if that was the best thing that could be done in this situation. Besides, what was Shawn thinking, just sitting out there in the middle of the parking lot?

As if that weren't enough, Chuck saw a car pull up behind the restaurant. He strained his eyes to get a good look at the driver and flashed instantly—a FULCRUM agent. There was someone else in the car with him, and without knowing why they were here, Chuck knew things didn't really look too good for Shawn.

He stared at the road before him, considering leaving the van. Yeah, he wasn't supposed to, but maybe he could just…

Without another thought, Chuck ran as fast as he could, took Shawn by the arm, and began to drag him back to the van. "Charles? What are you doing here? What—" Chuck pulled him up into the van and closed the doors behind them.

"What is going on out there? And why…why do you have all of this awesome spy stuff in here? This is seriously cool." Shawn began to take a look around, poking a few buttons. "Did you guys rent this stuff or…" Suddenly, he closed his eyes tight, fingertips to temples. "Oh, sweet Georgia sunshine. You and Sarah are spies, aren't you? How did I not see that? It all makes sense now, Sarah being all secretive and sexy and kung-fuish, and you having that super cool name, Carmichael. What brought you to the Psych office?"

"Oh…uh…you know, I really don't think we should talk about that…uh, I have to contact…someone," said Chuck, sitting down again. He decided to call General Beckman, because he didn't really know what else to do. She answered on a small video screen on one of the van's control panels. "General…uh, we're sort of in trouble here. Casey and Sarah…"

"Who's that?" Asked Shawn. "Hello," he said to General Beckman.

"What is going on?" She asked.

"General, Casey and Sarah are…"

At that moment, Casey unlocked and opened the van door, immediately seeing Shawn. "Bartowski! What is Spencer doing in here?"

"Uh…"

"Major Casey, what is the meaning of this?" General Beckman demanded.

"Uh, I gotta go," said Chuck, ending the call with General Beckman.

Angry, Casey walked over to Chuck. "How did Spencer get in here? Why did you let him in?"

"He was in danger, okay?"

"Excuse me," Shawn began. "How do you know my name? Have you been watching me? Oh, of course you have. You have super cool ninja spy dude written all over you."

Casey grunted and shot daggers and Shawn with his eyes. "Bartowski, we have three assailants downed with tranq darts in that restaurant. I hate to say this, but we need your help."

"Wait a minute—Bartowski? That's your real name? Charles Bartowski?" Said Shawn, almost disgusted.

"Uh, call me Chuck," he replied. "And Casey…you want me to help you drag bodies in here?"

"Cool!" Said Shawn. "Can I help?"

"Shut up and stay here, Spencer," barked Casey. "Bartowski, come on."

Shawn sat in the van door and watched as Sarah, Casey, and Chuck put the downed FULCRUM agents inside. When they had finished, Sarah told Shawn, "Mr. Spencer, I apologize, but I'm afraid you'll have to come back to Burbank with us for tonight."

"What? Why?"

"I understand this must be confusing for you," she said, "but you've been exposed to information that you aren't supposed to know. You'll need to come back to Castle with us until further notice."

"I don't know what the big deal is," Shawn said. "I mean, yeah, I know you guys are spies, but I don't know anything about your mission, or about who the knocked out guys are. Yeah, I know Chuck's last name is actually Bartowski. And it's kinda fun to say. Bartowski. But, I mean, I don't even know what Castle is. Although it kinda would be fun to find out what—"

"Just shut up, Spencer! You're even worse than Bartowski," Casey yelled.

"Okay, what is that guy's problem?" Shawn asked Sarah.

"I'm sorry, Shawn," said Sarah. "Casey, Shawn will ride with you in the van. I have something to discuss with Chuck." Sarah gave Chuck a look that made him gulp.

"Oh, please, don't tell me that—"

"Casey!" Sarah said firmly. Casey didn't say anything else.

Sarah and Chuck got into Sarah's car and Sarah began talking right away. "Chuck, what were you thinking?"

"I don't know, Sarah, okay? I was just looking out for Shawn. He—he was gonna call somebody, and-and there were those FULCRUM agents around, and I thought—"

"Chuck, you disobeyed the orders of me, Casey, and General Beckman! You could've gotten hurt. And, I don't know what's going to happen to Shawn now."

"W-what could happen to him?"

"I don't know, Chuck. We'll just have to ask General Beckman."

They rode in silence for a little while until Chuck said, "I kinda like Shawn."

Sarah smiled faintly. "So do I. Although if I had to work with him I'd probably slit my wrists."

Chuck laughed; then had a thought. "You don't…_like_ him like him, do you?"

"No, Chuck," she said plainly.

They were quiet for the rest of the trip.


	9. Chapter 9

When Chuck and Sarah had finally arrived at Castle, Shawn and Casey had already been there for a few minutes. After the unconscious FUCLRUM agents had been put into holding cells, Casey conference called General Beckman once again, and she appeared on the screen, her hair messy against the backdrop of her kitchen.

"What is it?" She asked. "It's late, and—is that Spencer?"

"We're sorry to bother you, General," said Sarah. "But we have a problem."

"Why is Spencer in Castle?" She asked, angrily.

"He's innocent," Chuck said.

"I am?" said Shawn. "What-what was I being accused of?" 

"General Beckman, we have captured three FULCRUM agents and are holding them in Castle, and Major Casey and I will interrogate them when they regain consciousness. In the process of capturing them, a mistake was made and Spencer now knows who we are."

"General Bleckman," Shawn began. 

"Beckman," Chuck quietly corrected.

"General Beckman," he continued, "I have been asking these people what the big deal is, but apparently Casey is much too grumpy and douche-y to answer me. Anyway, I am very confused as to what on earth any of you were doing in Santa Barbara."

"Figure it out, psychic," Casey mumbled.

"I don't have the energy to deal with the four of you right now," General Beckman said. "All of you, tell Spencer what the rest of the plan is for the counterfeit case file. Tomorrow, return to Santa Barbara and work it out, unless of course he cannot be trusted or in any way poses a threat. Other than that, no more information will be passed on to him, is that understood? I want this case finished by tomorrow or else there will be consequences, am I clear?"

"Yes General," said Sarah, Casey, and Chuck in unison.

"By the way, I do expect to eventually be told how Mr. Spencer obtained this information, although I suspect it lies on the shoulders of Mr. Bartowski. Team, I'll be expecting a call tomorrow. Goodnight," said the General, and the screen went black.

"Did she know I was there? She didn't seem to know I was even in the room," Shawn complained.

"Listen Shawn, we don't have much time," said Sarah. "Listen to every word we say to you and _pay attention._ What we are going to tell you is very important and you are going to need to take in every detail." 

"Okay, I'll ask again, _what is going on?"_ Shawn said.

Sarah took a deep breath and explained the mission they had been assigned to, with Chuck jumping in here and there. She left out the detail of the Chuck's intersect, but told him that they knew he wasn't actually psychic.

"This is the coolest thing I have ever heard!" Shawn exclaimed. "You guys with the listening devices and the weapons and the guns and bulletproof vests and the mojo-dojo karate. Oh, just wait 'til I tell Gus about this..." 

"What makes you think you can tell him?" Casey said.

"Well, I gotta tell Gus, we tell each other everything. Plus, there's no way I'm keeping something like this from him."

"Shawn, these are government secrets," Sarah said. "But if you're positive you can trust Gus, he might be able to help us out. Can Gus act?" 

"No doubt about it."

Casey still objected, but as Sarah explained herself, he relented slightly. Sarah, Casey, and Chuck spent the rest of the night going over the events of the next day until every detail was perfected and they were certain Shawn knew what to do. Casey called the undercover agents working the case with them and told them to get ready. He wasn't coming to Santa Barbara this time, since he now had to watch Castle's prisoners.

As dawn broke, Shawn exclaimed, "Okay, who's up for some honey glazed chicken biscuits? Donuts, maybe? Or, I could do both."

No one responded to the idea, although to Chuck, both of those things sounded really good. Before long, they headed out, all three of them in Sarah's car. Chuck drove after drinking two and a half cups of coffee.

"Wow, I haven't been up this early in a long, long time. Is this normal for you spies?" Shawn asked.

"Pretty much," said Chuck.

"You know, there's one thing I haven't been able to figure out about this whole thing, and that's you, Lucky Chuckie. It's obvious you're not a normal spy-you have no coordination and no muscle tone- and that you have a different sort of special talent that qualifies you to work with Sarah and Casey, but I just can't figure out what it is." 

"Chuck went to Stanford," said Sarah.

"Oh, Ivy League boy, huh? I'll buy that. You're the brains, Sarah probably seduces guys and then beats them up, and Casey shoots people. But wait a minute..."

Chuck began to get nervous.

"General Bleckman called Sarah Agent Walker and Casey _Major_ Casey. She only called Chuck Mr. Bartowski, so he's not an agent, he's a consultant, like Gus and me. But what does he do..."

"Uh, Shawn," said Sarah, "why don't you tell us about the last case you solved? I believe I read something about a fireman who turned out to be an arsonist..."

"Oh, yeah, Gus and I got to slide down the fire pole! It was great." Shawn began talking about his former cases and Chuck relaxed. He was glad that he wasn't investigating anymore and there was nothing he could flash on, because even though Shawn had only a limited knowledge of how computers within the brain and the like worked, he figured it wouldn't be too hard for him to figure it out.

"Dude, roller derby chicks," Shawn continued. "Can you believe it? It turns out they were all identity thieves breaking into stores on their roller skates. And Jules had to go undercover and went on the roller derby team! Well, technically that was her case. We just helped her out."

Things were quiet for a few moments as they drew closer to Santa Barbara. "So Sarah, I know you were just pretending to be into me, but I was thinking that maybe we could try things again. We could go to the same restaurant and just, you know, start over..."

Chuck gripped the steering wheel. Was he ever going to stop hitting on her?

"Sorry, Shawn," said Sarah.

"All right," he said, looking out the window. They had finally reached the Psych office, where Shawn had asked Gus to meet them.


	10. Chapter 10

At exactly nine in the morning, Shawn burst through the doors of the Santa Barbara police station with Gus, Chuck, and Sarah in tow. He walked so quickly that Chuck was having trouble keeping up, and as he sped around to Juliet's desk, he fought to catch his breath.

"Shawn, you're here...early," said Juliet.

"I had a psychic dream that waked me in the night." He paused. "Wakened me? Woke? Wokeded?" Shawn shrugged. "Anyways, I saw...I saw...running...desperation...hunger..."

"You _saw_ desperation and hunger?" Juliet asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Shawn means he psychically felt it. And he saw faces of pain and starvation..." Gus said.

"Yes, oh yes! Thank you Gus...I can see...grass...and trees...and...MOO!" Everyone looked up, startled. "Cows. It's a farm! Look...lark...like...loan..."

"Lakeland Farms?" Juliet suggested.

"Yes! That's it! I see Brent! He's there...amidst grass and flowers...alive!"

"He's alive?" said Sarah, acting overjoyed.

"Brent is alive!"

Sarah kissed Shawn on the cheek, and Chuck stared. Juliet averted her eyes, and Gus glared.

"Let's go!" Shawn announced. Juliet called for Carlton to join then and off they went.

* * *

When they had reached Lakeland Farms, Juliet and Lassiter talked to the owner, were given permission to look around and were told where the cows were kept, as Chuck knew he would. Gus followed closely behind Lassiter's car, where Juliet was also riding, as they drove across the green farmland. It had recently began to rain.

"You two are doing great. Thank you so much for your cooperation," Sarah said.

"Don't mention it. I'm always happy to help out the CIA," said Gus, smooth as usual.

"'Always?'" Shawn questioned. "What other time have you ever helped out the CIA? Ever?"

"You don't know everything about my life, Shawn."

"Yes I do. I've known you since we were..."

"You do not know everything, Shawn. You didn't even know I had a wife until..."

"Oh, Mira? You're bringing up Mira now?"

"Yes, Shawn. I play the Mira card."

"Oh please. I am done with you, sir."

Chuck stared at Sarah in confusion. She shrugged.

* * *

When they had arrived at the cow pasture, they saw what was supposed to be Brent's car almost immediately, with what looked to be Brent inside. Gus parked and Sarah ran out into the dense rain at the same time Juliet and Lassiter did. "That's Brent's car!" She yelled, taking off across the field.

"Sarah!" Screamed Shawn. "Watch out for cow pies!"

As Chuck dashed toward the car and Sarah he took the same advice.

When Sarah arrived, Brent unlocked the door, stood up in a very shaky manner and kissed her full-on. No one had told Chuck this was going to happen, and maybe for a good reason. During rain the scene looked like something from a romance movie. They still hadn't stopped. Shawn looked disgusted and Chuck wondered if he himself looked similar.

"Wow," said Juliet.

"All right, all right," grumped Lassiter.

"Sarah," said Brent, letting go of her. "When that creep had me tied up in that office all I could think about was you. I know we've never dated, but I think we've always been in love. Sarah...will you marry me? I don't have a ring..."

Juliet half-covered her mouth with her hand, smiling brightly. Chuck felt the opposite. No one had told him about this either.

"Of course! And I don't need a ring. Well, maybe..." She paused. "I love you!"

"Oh please," said Lassiter, rolling his eyes. "Mr. Calloway, what happened?"

"I'm not all that sure. I haven't slept in days. Whoever kidnapped me was holding me somewhere in Oregon. I escaped with my car and I've been afraid to stop for too long. I think my eyes are playing tricks on me, or my head or..." He paused. "I got so afraid that they were after me that I drove off the road and stopped here. It seemed so safe that I let my guard down and fell asleep."

"How did you escape?" Asked Gus.

"I took out a couple of guys," he replied.

"We should get you to a hospital, Mr. Calloway. Are you seriously hurt?" asked Juliet.

"No. Just some bruises."

"Sarah, why don't you ride with us to take Mr. Calloway to the hospital? Shawn, Gus, you take Mr. Carmichael home," Juliet instructed.

"Um...well, you see..." Chuck began.

"Come on, Chuck," said Shawn, pulling him towards Gus' car. "Oh, and Jules?"

"Yes, Shawn?"

"I also had a premonition about that guy that followed you. Trust me, there is no reason for alarm. None at all. He was your fairy godfather."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes. Quite a shy fellow. The spirits are telling me to tell you not to worry."

She smiled at him genuinely. "Thanks, Shawn."

After everyone had gotten in to Gus' car, they began the trek back to Santa Barbara.

As usual, Shawn and Gus chattered on and on about the kiss and the rain and such. Chuck hadn't been having the best day thus far, so he didn't speak much. He couldn't decide if he wanted this day to end or not. When the day ended, so did this case, and although the whole case had been stressful, he didn't want to say goodbye to anyone. Just like he had thought a few days earlier, he liked Shawn and Gus and Juliet, and even Detective Lassiter, surprisingly. When this case was over, he'd never see any of them again.

But, then again, there was still work to be done.

* * *

"Shawn, we can't go to Oregon. It's out of our jurisdiction," Juliet explained as she sat down at her desk. Chuck was still with Shawn and Gus, and Sarah was still with Brent at the "hospital."

"Gus and I have no lines of jurisdiction," Shawn told her.

"True, but you're going to have to get some type of law enforcement to help you. _No citizen's arrests,_ Shawn. Gus, that goes for you too."

"Dang it. I've always wanted to make a citizen's arrest," Shawn complained. "Gus, haven't you?"

"You know that's right."

"_No citizen's arrests,"_ she said again.

On the way to the police station, Shawn and Gus had been discussing all the possible ways they could just bring "Ollie Jenkins" to local police themselves and have it actually look like they'd subdued him alone. But after finally admitting no one would buy it, they realized that it was best to just follow the plan Sarah and Chuck had told them about.

"Brent said the garage he was held in was near Portland. Just call the local police department and say..." She paused. Shawn and Gus gave her huge, pleading smiles. "...or, I'll do it myself."

"Thank you, Jules," Shawn said. Everything had gone as planned. He and Gus turned and began to walk out. Before Chuck could follow, Juliet caught his attention.

"Mr. Carmichael?"

He turned around. "Yes?"

"Listen, um...I'm really sorry about what happened with Sarah. I mean, I saw your face when Brent proposed to her..I mean, it's not any of my business, but..."

"Oh, y-you saw that?"

She just nodded. "You must be really torn up."

"Y-yeah, but...I guess, I guess we just weren't meant to be t-together. But, I'm crazy about her." Chuck smiled, so relieved that Sarah wasn't actually engaged.

"Well, you seem like a really nice guy. And I'm sure Sarah appreciates your friendship. Sometimes that's the best thing you can be." She smiled at him again.

"Yeah," he said. "You're probably...right."

"I hope Shawn and Gus aren't giving you too much trouble."

"No, no," was all he said.

"Well, if you need anything..."

"Thank you, Detective."

"Anytime," she said, sitting back down.

"Charles!" Shawn called from the very end of the police station. "Are you coming?"

"Y-yeah!" He called back, speeding up and meeting him at the door.

"What were you talking to Juliet about?" Asked Gus.

"Nothing."

After the three hopped in the car once more, they began to head back to the Psych office. Everything was almost complete.

* * *

**Author's note: Again, everyone, thanks so much for hanging in there! Only two more chapters to go. As always, thank you for all of the follows/favorites/reviews.**


	11. Chapter 11

When Shawn, Gus, and Chuck reached the Psych office, Sarah was sitting on the bench out front, waiting patiently. "Hey Sarah," said Shawn. "Where's the cool Brent guy?"

Sarah looked around to make sure no one was in earshot. "Agent Rinker? I don't know. Once the detectives left the hospital, his team's surveillance van gave me a ride back here and then we went our separate ways."

"You didn't even speak on the way here?" Gus asked.

"We're barely acquaintances, Gus," said Sarah.

"So you mean you just got engaged to a guy you hardly know? Tsk tsk tsk, Sarah..." said Shawn.

"I do what I have to," Sarah explained as Gus unlocked the office door. Once inside, Sarah said, "I assume the Portland police have been called?" 

"Check and check," said Shawn.

"Great. Does everyone remember what comes next?"

After a simultaneous "yes," Sarah pulled a folded newspaper from her purse and handed it to Shawn. "Shawn, this is the only copy that we have and it is very important that you do not lose this. This is-" Shawn stared blankly and she paused a moment before giving the paper to Gus.

"A very smart move, Sarah," said Gus, who then put the newspaper in a prominent place on his neat desk.

"Now, all we need to do is wait until Detective O'Hara calls, then Chuck and I will be finished," said Sarah.

There was a slight pause.

"You know, Chuckie-bear, you're being awfully quiet," Shawn stated.

"Uh, yeah," he muttered. Truth be told, there was a lot on his mind. "Uh, Sarah, can we...talk outside, maybe?"

"Sure, Chuck," she said.

Once they were outside, Chuck asked, "Why didn't you tell me about the-the kiss and engagement thing?"

"Chuck..." she sighed heavily. "You know it's my job. We've been through this." 

"Why was it even necessary?" He sat down on the bench hard .

"We planned it out that way so that all of my romantic ties to Shawn would be severed." She sat gently next to him. "Chuck, it isn't worth thinking about."

"Look, Sarah, you know how I feel. I-I...I don't want-"

"I do know," she said, taking his hand slowly. "But I can't let that change the way I do my job."

Chuck stayed silent. He knew the drill; Sarah had told him these things over and over again for the past year, but no matter how many times he heard the words, they never improved anything.

The door suddenly flung open. "Chuck, Sarah, Gus and I are about to watch last week's episode of _American Duos._ Just thought I should let you know," Shawn said. He noticed Chuck and Sarah's clasped hands and shook his head. "Boy Sarah, you are one confusing kitten. First me, then that Agent Tinker guy, and now Chuck..."

"Shawn, please," said Sarah, with a small smile. Letting go of each other's hands, Chuck and Sarah followed him back into the office.

Gus was already on the couch with a large bag of Funyuns. "I've got enough to share," he said, raising his eyebrows at Sarah.

"I doubt Sarah wants _Funyuns,_ Gus," Shawn retorted, plopping down on the couch. "Besides, the most comfortable spot on the couch is next to me."

Sarah and Chuck stood silently for a moment. Sarah began, "Um, Chuck, why don't you-"

"Yeah," he said, sitting down between Gus and Shawn. Sarah then pulled up Gus' office chair.

Disappointed, Shawn and Gus kept quiet as the episode began. They were about five minutes into it when Shawn's cell phone rang. "Oh, Harry Potter's hairbrush," Shawn muttered. "Gus, pause the recording." Gus did so.

Shawn answered the call, putting it on speakerphone. "Hey, hey, hey, Jules. You're on speakerphone. Charlesy and Sarah are here."

"_Oh, hi,"_ said Juliet. _"I just heard back from the Portland PD. Jenkins is now in custody. And get this—he was about to leave for Canada. Great work, Shawn. You too, Gus."_

"Thanks, Jules," answered Shawn and Gus in unison.

"_Miss Walker, how's your fiance?"_

"He's doing fine," said Sarah. "He was let go from the hospital, and now he's back at home."

"_Great. Congratulations again."_

"Thank you, Detective."

"_It was great to meet you. And Mr. Calloway. And you too, Mr. Carmichael."_

Chuck hadn't had time to answer "likewise" when Shawn started in, "We're all going out for celebratory jerk chicken tonight. Wanna come?"

Sarah and Chuck exchanged glances. They hadn't been aware of any dinner plans, although it seemed like a good idea to Chuck. He figured it would give him just a little more time with his new friends. He did hope that Juliet would come as well.

"_Sorry, Shawn. I'm on duty tonight."_

"Oh, come on, Jules, can't you just blow work off?" Shawn asked.

On the other end of the line, everyone heard Lassiter's voice call,_ "O'Hara!"_

"_Well Shawn, if that doesn't answer your question..." _Juliet trailed off. 

"_O'Hara!" _Lassiter called again.

"Don't worry, Juliet. We'll pick you up something to go," said Gus.

"_Thanks, Gus."_

"_O'HARA!"_

"_CARLTON, just hold your horses!" _They all heard Juliet yell. _"Sorry, Shawn, looks like I have to go."_

Everyone said goodbye to Juliet and Shawn hung up. "Mission accomplished!" Shawn sang.

"Thank you both so much for your help," said Sarah.

"By the way, jerk chicken is happening," said Shawn.

"And the Psych office is paying," Gus added.

"That is very thoughtful, but Chuck and I have to get back," Sarah began. "We've already exceeded our deadline on this mission, and if we don't get back with enough time to report to General Beckman..."

"How 'bout we go back to Burbank with you guys?" said Shawn. "That way you guys can go to talk to General Bleckman before we eat."

Chuck shot Sarah a near-pleading look. "Remember, we can't take them inside Castle," she told him.

"They can hang out at the Buy More. I'll introduce them to Morgan."

"Chuck..."

"Sarah, please. I have so few friends..."

Sarah looked at Shawn and Gus, then back at Chuck. Sighing deeply, she uttered, "Okay, fine."

Everyone thanked Sarah profusely as they all headed out the door. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: Wow, we made it! This is really the last chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and/or followed this story! I really, really hope you enjoyed it.**

* * *

As soon as they had arrived at the Buy More, Sarah went down to Castle while Chuck roamed the store with Gus and Shawn, looking for Morgan.

"So Chuckster, what's this guy look like?" Asked Shawn.

"Well, he's short...and he has kinda dark hair..."

"That guy?" Gus asked, pointing at Lester.

"No, that's..." Chuck trailed off as Lester quickly approached.

"Charles, where have you been?" He said, very seriously. "Big Mike has been..." Tilting his head, he gave Shawn and Gus strange looks. "Who are these men?"

"Lester, this are my friends Shawn and Gus. Now, can you please tell me where Morgan is?"

"Break room. But don't stay too long...there's been a DVD mishap."

Chuck sped Gus and Shawn to the break room, where Morgan sat eating a sandwich. "Hey, buddy!" He practically yelled. "I haven't seen you since..."

"Yeah, Morgan, I know," he said sadly. "Listen, I met some new friends. This is Gus and this is Shawn. They work for a psychic detective agency."

"You're psychic? Wow. So, you mean, you guys know what I'm thinking right now?" said Morgan.

"Well first off, only I am psychic. Poor Gus does not have the talent. And second off..." Shawn put fingers to temple. "You're thinking, 'That was a really good sandwich and Shawn looks like Brad Pitt.'"

"That's exactly what I was...well, the first part was exactly what I was thinking! You're really good!"

"Oh _please,"_ said Shawn. Gus glared.

"Morgan, I have to...do something. Can you do me a favor and show these guys around the store?" Chuck asked.

"What, have they never seen a Buy More before?" Morgan said.

"No, we haven't. See, Shawn and I live a very humble country life. We don't even own what city folks refer to as a _telephone."_ Gus explained.

"Oh, wow. Well, come on, we'll start with the home theater room, my personal favorite..." And with that, Morgan turned around and led all but Chuck out of the break room.

Once he was alone, Chuck punched in the code and watched the wall of lockers open up into Castle. When he had finally made it to the main room, he was met with a, "What took you so long?" From Sarah.

"Sorry, there were a few slight diversions."

Sarah immediately called General Beckman.

"Well, I see you two have finally decided to call. I hope you've finished your mission," the General said deeply.

"Yes, General. Everything is taken care of. Mr. Guster has promised to tie up any loose ends by presenting the detectives at the Santa Barbara Police Station with a newspaper article about their solved case," Sarah explained.

"Well, even it wasn't in any way done to my liking, we can consider this case a success. Not only did we discover the innocence of Mr. Spencer, we have three of Project Cerebrum's subjects in custody, which was much more than we were hoping for. However, I certainly can hope that you'll understand why I can't commend you on this one," Beckman said firmly.

"Yeah...we get that," said Chuck.

"Well...goodnight," said the General, and the screen went black.

"That was...relatively painless," Chuck said with a smile.

"It was. I was expecting a lot worse," Sarah answered. "Where are Shawn and Gus?"

"They're taking a tour of the store with Morgan." They began to walk back to the Buy More.

"I see. Where are we eating?"

"Somewhere with jerk chicken, I guess."

It took them a while to track down Morgan, but they finally found them in the very corner of the store with the washing machines. "...and sometimes, when no one's looking, I try to fit inside," he was saying when they walked up.

"Hey Morgan, wanna go to dinner with us?" Chuck asked him.

"No, sorry. I'd really love to, but Big Mike just put me working on the DVD mishap."

"What is it with people and work?" Shawn asked.

The question went unanswered as Morgan said goodbye and the remaining four walked out to the Blueberry, Gus' car. They decided on Milo's, a place Chuck _thought_ had jerk chicken, and if not, excellent buffalo wings.

Dinner ended up lasting until the restaurant closed at midnight. It had been a while since Chuck had last felt so relaxed. Finally, he was able to share with someone all the crazy things that had happened to him ever since the Intersect had been downloaded. He could even tell Sarah was, for once, relaxed as well, which made Chuck even happier. On top of it all were even more stories of Shawn and Gus' exciting cases, packed with tales of fashion models, sea lions, haunted asylums, and speed dating.

When they were all finally kicked out of Milo's, Shawn said, "Well, Gus, who's driving back?"

"I am, Shawn. You're not driving my car, even if it _is_ midnight."

"Look, you guys can stay with me tonight," Chuck said.

"Chuck, what about Ellie?" Sarah reminded him.

"Oh..." He imagined Ellie waking up tomorrow morning to two strange men sleeping in her living room. "Yeah, that might not be such a good idea."

They were a silent for a moment before goodbyes began. Everybody hugged everybody, Gus promised he and Shawn were stopping for coffee, and then Shawn gave one final word. "Listen, Chuck, call us when you want to have a Duck Hunt night. We can make a three hour trip, we don't mind."

"Shawn's right," said Gus. "Most of our Saturdays are spend lying on the couch in the Psych office eating cheese puffs."

"Thanks, guys," said Chuck. He and Sarah turned and walked back to his car.

"You okay, Chuck?" Asked Sarah.

"Yeah, it's just...Sarah, it was nice to..."

"I know, Chuck. You're right." Before they got in the car, she hugged him softly, which, somehow, made saying goodbye just a little easier.

After dropping Sarah off, Chuck went home and lumbered into bed and found that, as his head hit the pillow, his shoulders were not quite as heavy as they had been as of late. His breath came easier now, and his neck was loose. It was in that moment Chuck realized that for the first time in a long time he finally felt...relieved. He knew that he now owed a debt to Shawn and Gus he would never be able to fully pay back.

* * *

**The End**


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